My Thoughtographs came into existence after I left our local community college without a degree, but with enough training in photography and Photoshop to propel me into creating my little “thangs.” I see now that many of the things written on the photos are things I’ve learned through some tough years in my life. I see many of my life values in the photos.
I can’t explain my process. There is a lot of “feeding” that goes on before the words come. Looking through the camera, whether it is my phone camera or my “real” camera, brings attentiveness into focus. I slow down and see ordinary things around me, things I otherwise might never pay attention to.
Breathe contains words spoken to me by a friend, succinct words I needed to hear at the time. They remain a useful reminder for me.
Faith was from another conversation between two friends. The little red boat was tethered at the edge of a bayou. I passed by it often and wondered if anyone ever went out in it. The land at the edge of the bayou was built up for construction and the little red boat was moved to a house nearby. It still sits unused on a stand in their front yard.
In Came to Love, loving myself was something I needed to learn. It’s taken a while and I’ll never learn to do it perfectly.
Creed, how I love this one. I love the photo and I love the words. I try to live, beginning with love and kindness, and moving through to letting my light shine in whatever situation I find myself.
Parable of the Heart was an early one. The angel is one of six angels I bought from the Dollar Tree. They’ve made several appearances in my photos and in some of my drawings. Cheap little tchotchkes, but inspirational for me. Weird, I know. Ha. I’ve looked up the spelling for “tchotchke.” This is what Urban Dictionary has to say: “If you are having trouble identifying Tchotchke just look around your house or someone else’s and whatever you see that a burglar wouldn’t steal is probably Tchotchke.” Doesn’t make them any less valuable for me!
In Darkness came to me in a time after my son died, and after I received my first colon cancer diagnosis. Darkness doesn’t always heal. We don’t all make it through darkness. In my own thinking, both light and darkness are non-negotiable pieces of life. I’m grateful to still have the privilege of being alive to walk through both lightness and darkness.
I can’t remember where or in what context I first learned about the Mobius Strip. I’m sure I read about it online. Being the curious sort, I made my own paper strip to see exactly how it could actually be a surface with only one side. The photo is of a pine tree that had fallen over in a pond. I copied the limb and flipped it to the opposite side to make my mobius strip. Lightness and darkness, or shadow seem to be common themes for me. I still drive past this pond often. The tree has almost rotted completely away.
Cemetery angels are some of my favorite subjects to photograph. In Not Alone, the bird happened to take a rest at the right time for me to photograph. She was a humorous reminder to me that we are not alone.
Walk Gently is a multi-layered piece and I love the texture on the photo. It’s another personal reminder for me. We can’t always know what hurts others are carrying.
I’m not an artist, per se, but I do appreciate and enjoy sharing Ordinary Moments.
This need to be a thang: “If you are having trouble identifying Tchotchke just look around your house or someone else’s and whatever you see that a burglar wouldn’t steal is probably Tchotchke.”